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The private equity team of Kuwaiti bank Global Investment House is set for a $500m (â¬340m) first close on its debut Islamic buyout fund next month. It has also reached 86% commitment on its fifth Mena-focused buyout fund just seven months after raising $650m.

The bank has teamed up with Dubai Islamic Bank and Millennium Capital to provide investors with access to Shariah-compliant private equity investments, which the partners see as a largely untapped asset class in the Mena region.

Global, DIB and Millennium Capital will commit 13% of the fund’s capital, with Global acting as investment manager and Millennium Capital as investment adviser.

Shailesh Dash, senior vice-president at Global, said: “The first close on our Islamic fund is expected in the next couple of weeks, and commitments will again come from investors in the region and in Asia. The reason for doing the Islamic tranche was that, when we were marketing the conventional buyout fund, we came across many investors who said they would like to invest in an Islamic tranche.”

Global raised its fifth buyout fund focusing on the region earlier this year, aiming to take controlling equity stakes in established private and public companies in the Middle East and North Africa, and in Turkey, China, India and Pakistan. The fund has just completed its fourth deal, paying $130m for a 61% stake in Saudi Arabian retailing group Al Sawani Food and Industrial Supply Company.

That deal means the fund is 86% committed, allowing it to begin marketing a new fund under the terms of its limited partnership agreement. Dash said: “We are focusing on growing our existing investments and looking at exits.”

Al Sawani has over 550 outlets spread across 12 countries, and owns the franchises for fashion brands including Guess, Benetton and Esprit in the region. Global plans to expand its geographical footprint, improve its operating systems, and work towards a flotation of the business on the Saudi stock exchange in about two years’ time, Dash said.

“We are very bullish on retailing. Fuelled by regional liquidity and a burgeoning young population, retail in the Gulf and the wider MENA region is poised for sizeable growth,” he added